VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The fall slate comes to an end for No. 24 Carson-Newman this week as it heads to the 17th Annual Flagler Fall Slam at the Marsh Creek Country Club in St. Augustine, Fla.
C-N has seen three-straight top-five finishes to this point in the season, the most recent being a second-place showing at the Women's Music City Invitational last week in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
"It just really shows the amount of hard work these girls are putting in and the depth we have," Carson-Newman coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "If we can have an individual, Matilda [Frövenholt] who finishes second, I mean, it really is awesome."
The Eagles will take the same six to the event as they did this past week at Trevecca with just one switch at the individual spot.
Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) will lead C-N for a second-straight event after tying for 20th at Music City. The sophomore still leads the team with a 75.1 scoring average through nine rounds of play.
Following behind her as the No. 2 is Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.), following a career outing at the Music City Invitational. She paced the Orange and Blue with an even 144 that landed her at third for the second top-three finish of her career, due mainly in part to the 69 she fired in the final round. The senior improved her scoring average on the season to a 76.3.
Matilda Frövenholt (Öjersjö, Sweden) moves up to the No. 3 slot this week after an incredible performance as the individual last week. She tied for fourth at Trevecca with a new career-best in a 36-hole score at 145. The junior is averaging a 76.7 score through four events, two as an individual.
The fourth and fifth spots for C-N will be occupied by Jayla Sims (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) and Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.). The two are neck and neck in scoring averages through the fall with Sims at a 77.4 and Kinnie maintaining a 77.8.
Ellie Haughton (Lincolnshire, England) will play as the individual for the first time this season, traveling to her third event. The freshman tied for 20th at the Music City Invitational last week with a nine-over 153. Through four rounds, she is carding a 77.0 average.
This is the first time since 2016 that the Eagles will be appearing in the event hosted by Flagler. Through the past four showings at the event, the best finish for the Orange and Blue came in 2011 when it finished in second-place. Erica Ray and Louise McGillivray led the C-N assembly that year with the duo tying for third.
Carson-Newman, still in the top 25 of the Women's Golf Coaches Association rankings, will be one of six teams to hold a national ranking in the field of 17 teams. Among the other ranked groups are two top 10 teams – Limestone is 10th in both the WGCA and Golfstat polls and Barry who is fifth and fourth, respectively.
"We couldn't be in a better place going into this very difficult event," Strudwick said. "It's the same as our very first event, I would say, in difficulty and talent of the teams that are going to be there."
The two-day tournament begins on Monday at 8 a.m. from the Marsh Creek Country Club. A full recap with results will follow both days of action at cneagles.com.